The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Just a look was enough to make the hearts of Liu Ying and Lin Xi race. They found it impossible to imagine that a monk could look so handsome and so radiant. A mortal monk’s bearing could actually make him feel so otherworldly it was like he was an immortal! It was fascinating.

By the side, Lin Tai felt pissed seeing Liu Ying acting this way. Men and women had different standards of beauty. He preferred men looking more manly, with bulging muscles. Although the monk before him wasn’t effeminate, he was definitely not a muscular hunk; therefore, he thought nothing of him!

Li He and Cui Jiandong weren’t feeling happy either. They were rather confident of their own looks, but when they saw the monk, they instantly felt a little ashamed. They could forget it if this monk were some effeminate androgynous boy who they felt they could criticize for being a sissy, but this monk exuded a radiant warmth which had the qualities of the sun. In his otherworldliness, there were definitely masculine vibes. Although he was gentle, he was not like jade but exuded the stability of a mountain! Such a person could hardly be criticized. All they could do was grumble inwardly. “F**k, when did becoming a monk require such good looks?”

They wore looks of astonishment. Likewise, Fangzheng shared the same shocked look. Although these people had changed quite significantly, he could still see a shadow of their former selves from school.

Although Lin Tai and Liu Ying had but a small impression of him and thought nothing of this nonessential classmate, it was different for Fangzheng. He cherished the years when he had studied. Although his studies weren’t anything to speak of, he cherished the memories of his classmates. After all, they were the few precious memories he had of the secular world. As for these people, they had left a deep impression on him, so he instantly recognized his former classmates.

“It’s said that university is like a surgery knife. Indeed, none of them looked good back in school,” Fangzheng mumbled to himself. Through some careful calculations, he realized his high school classmates should be close to graduation.

Although Fangzheng seldom appeared in his high school classmate chat group, he still read their conversations. He knew that there were a few people in the class who were really impressive, especially Lin Tai. His father had abandoned his family while he was still young. It was unknown where he went, but he ended up returning last year as a billionaire. He drove cars worth millions and stayed in a huge villa. Lin Tai’s family members were swept along by his father and soon, Lin Tai flaunted his villa, his swimming pool, his various sports cars, etc. It left many classmates green with envy.

In fact, Fangzheng was rather envious as well, but it was only an appreciative envy. This was because his ideal life was nothing like that.

However, Fangzheng never expected that this phoenix that flew out from a chicken coop would actually come to Mt. One Finger. It was truly a rare event.

Just as Fangzheng was in a daze, Lin Xi tugged at Liu Ying and whispered, “This isn’t Fangzheng, right? Didn’t all of you say that Fangzheng was rather ugly?”

Liu Ying shook her head. “He doesn’t resemble him. My impression of Fangzheng is that he wasn’t that handsome.”

Despite their whispers, Fangzheng could hear them. He immediately felt pissed. Although he wasn’t as handsome back in school as he was now, he had the foundations of being handsome, alright? Although his studies weren’t outstanding, he was always last! Although the teachers never commended him publicly, they would occasionally call him out to scold him! Why would these a**holes not have any impression of him? Seriously. Sons of a Jingfa ¹ !

In fact, Fangzheng once thought of a problem. Be it Lone Wolf, Monkey, or Squirrel, ever since they entered One Finger Monastery, they ate Crystal Rice and drank Unrooted Clean Aqua every day while absorbing the Buddhistic aura. All of them were slowly changing. The most striking changes were their changes in size, strength, fur color, and the brightness of their eyes.

And as One Finger Monastery’s abbot, he naturally received even more benefits with the augmentation of the System. The changes he had undergone were even greater!

His skin was as tender and supple as a baby’s. His toned body was improving by the day. Even his face was slowly changing. Under the Buddhistic aura’s nourishment, his face was approaching that of the golden ratio. However, the changes were slow. This prevented the villagers who often saw Fangzheng to notice his changes. As for Fangzheng himself, he obviously failed to notice it too.

This was akin to when one had a child at home. While bringing the child up, one might not notice the changes, but once pictures of the past are used to make a comparison, the changes become obvious.

Liu Ying, Lin Tai, Li He, and Cui Jiandong did not have much of an impression of Fangzheng to begin with. Now that he had changed so drastically, they naturally failed to recognize him.

Fangzheng did not say a word, while Li He said with a jealous tone, “This is definitely not Fangzheng. If Fangzheng can look like that, then I’m Andy Lau ². Although I don’t remember Fangzheng very well, he was definitely ugly!”

Ugly! Ugly! This word resounded in Fangzheng’s mind repeatedly as he yearned to raise his arm to give Li He two slaps in the face before asking, “Do you know what beauty is?”

Cui Jiandong added his opinion. “That’s right. Fangzheng was indeed quite ugly. Furthermore, the guy was so poor, how could he buy something like this? I think we can just go take a look, and it’s best we don’t acknowledge him. If he really wants us to donate money or something, that would be troublesome.”

“What Jiandong says makes sense! I’m all for it!” Li He immediately raised his hands.

“Enough, the two of you. We haven’t met him yet,” said Liu Ying.

“That’s right. Watch it. Although Fangzheng wasn’t much to speak of, if he’s really living a destitute life, as his former classmates, we should help him a little,” Lin Tai said. However, the look in his eyes and his expression made Fangzheng feel that he was like a king showing pity to a beggar.

Fangzheng was rendered speechless. He had planned on greeting them, but he completely wiped that thought from his mind. He did not even say a word and just went back up the mountain. He had come down to inspect the spring source. It was One Finger Monastery’s main source of water, so nothing could happen to it. Although Red Boy came to draw water daily, he was quite careless. Fangzheng wasn’t at ease with the situation.

Once Fangzheng left, the group stopped standing there in a daze. They immediately followed.

Fangzheng did not walk very quickly, and it was the same for the group behind him. They followed behind and chatted. Although they weren’t loud, Fangzheng’s hearing was great. He heard them clearly. As he listened, he looked up into the sky in speechlessness. Was he that terrible back in school? Why did it feel like the person they were describing had nothing to do with him? Wasn’t this just them tarnishing his reputation?

Since Liu Ying and Cui Jiandong knew Lin Tai’s intentions, they naturally did not go easy on sullying Fangzheng. They hoped it would persuade Liu Ying to give up on the mountain and return with them. Lin Tai followed and listened, showing concern for Liu Ying from time to time by asking her if she was tired, whether she needed a break or water, etc.

As Fangzheng listened, he caught a whiff of a fragrance. It was Lin Tai’s sister, Lin Xi. She asked with a chuckle, “Venerable One, hello there. I’m Lin Xi.”